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Shantideva Quotes

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Shantideva Quotes

“When you cultivate deeply such powerful sentiments as those articulated in Shantideva’s prayer... For as long as space exists, For as long as sentient beings remain, Until then, may I too remain And dispel the miseries of the world, … time is totally irrelevant; you are thinking in terms of infinity.”

BuddhismEnlightenmentAwakeningThe Path Of The BodhisattvaBodhisattva VowShantideva
Book:Illuminating the Path to Enlightenment: A Commentary on Atisha Dipamkara Shrijnana's A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment and Lama Je Tsong Khapa's Lines of Experience
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“Thus, once you have adopted such an attitude of infinite interconnectedness, you naturally want to liberate not just yourself but all beings from suffering. The Buddha calls this „the conception of the Spirit of Enlightenment“ it is the soul of the Bodhisattva, the person who dedicates him- or herself to helping all beings achieve total happiness. When you open to the inevitability of your infinite interconnection with other sensitive beings, you develop compassion. You learn to feel empathy for them, to love them, to want their happiness. You want to keep them from suffering, and you do so just as if they were a part of you. You don‘t think your behavior makes you special. You don‘t congratulate yourself for helping others, just as you wouldn't congratulate yourself for healing your own legs when you hurt it. It is natural for you to love your leg because it is one with you, and so it is natural for you to love others. You would certainly never harm another being. As the great Buddhist adept Shantideva (eighth-century Indian sage) wrote, „How wonderful will it be when all beings experience each other as limbs on the one body of life! (p. 27)”

BuddhismEnlightenmentOnenessInterconnectionShantidevaThe Way Of The Bodhisattva
Book:Infinite Life: Awakening to Bliss Within
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